SOUTH AFRICA: Settlers Safaris In The Eastern Cape July 2024

[Moe324]

I was greeted by my PH Charl Crous at the Port Elizabeth airport. It was such a relief knowing I would be hunting with a great PH, I had hunted with Charl in 2017 when he was working at another outfit. This time I would be hunting with him at Settlers Safaris owned by his cousin Murray Crous. I had flown in on a afternoon flight from Johannasburg. So by the time we arrived at the Bushman's Gorge lodge it was dark. A nice dinner was awaiting us along with some other hunters in camp. The next morning we shot the rifle we would be using a 6.5 creedmoor Howa. Some minor adjustments and we ready to roll. First animal on the list was the mighty blue duiker. For this hunt we would be using a over under 12 ga. shotgun and dogs. We drove to the coastal area around Port Alfred where we meet up with Mr. Jeff and Mr. Robert. After a brief safety meeting with Mr. Robert we were ready to start running the dogs into the little Islands of brush and trees. I was standing next to Mr. Robert as he would be giving me the go ahead on the lighting speed blue flashes. I will admit I was nervous as one of his dogs was shot and killed by a previous hunter rather recently. He said it was a freak accident but still I didn't want to even come close to shooting near any of the dogs. My instructions from him was he would yell no if it wasnt a shooter. On the first patch the first thing to run out was a female bushbuck. When it bolted out my heart was racing. The next thing to come out was a blue duiker male but it had come out the side and was running mach7 I shot twice with both my shots behind it. Lucky for me my PH had his other cousin filming the hunt so afterwards we could see my shots way behind. Robert told me to shake it off and that is happens a lot. I'm a bird hunter and felt bad missing but I normally shoot a browning a5 and if your a shotgun guy you know the way a gun shoulders can take awhile to get used to. The next batch the dogs ran we saw a quick glimpse of what we assumed was the same one I had missed. No shot was presented. We then moved to another batch. The dogs chased a female out and as I was swinging the gun I heard Robert yell no. Atleast I got the swing and speed practice down. About 2 minutes later one jumps out the side and is running full speed. My first shot is behind but my second is dead on hitting the neck and head. The little blue duiker does a front flip and expires. Mr. Robert yells "You bloody fool" and slaps me on the back in celebration. What a trophy animal and a hunt I will never forget. This was number 4 of the tiny ten for me. On the way back to the lodge we stopped at the Indian ocean. I decided to take some pictures there with the blue duiker. It was winter time so luckily it wasn't crowded. We got a couple strange looks. As we were leaving I told my PH to back up because I was sure I saw a blue duiker on a metal sign leaving the beach. Sure enough there was a sign stating it was illegal to hunt them in the area next to the beach. No wonder we got some looks

 

[Moe324]

 

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After the blue duiker hunt we returned to the lodge. I then got a tour of the lodge property. The owner Murray has been buying adjoining pieces of property and was really expanding to a already huge area. There were Impala, zebra, wildebeast, blesbok, nyala, springbok, waterbuck, giraffe, warthog, bushbuck, duiker, kudu and more on the property. We searched for a big waterbuck but unfortunately they outsmarted us this afternoon. The next day we received a call from Mr. Jeff that one of his packs of caracal dogs had a cat treed. So we ended are hunt and made a quick dash to meet up with him. He dog handler was called onto this large poultry farmers property because the workers had heard a bushbuck barking. It didn't take long for the dogs to find a bushbuck kill and then from there they got on the cat trail and eventually had it in the tree. When we got to the property Mr. Jeff was waiting for us to follow him. What a ride that was. It was all downhill into mountain valleys. It was like riding a rollercoaster. We were on a time crunch hoping the cat wouldn't jump the tree. Once we got parked the real adventure started. Tunneling are way into the brush and trees. We were crawling on are hands and knees. Mr. Jeff was leading the way with me right behind him. I could see blood dripping down his face from a thorn to the face. We finally got to the tree with the dogs and the dog handler. We had to slowly crawl up to the tree. This time I would be using Mr. Jeff's side by side shotgun. My PH Charl crawled up next to me. We identified the cat in the tree. There was a hole in the leaves about the size of a baseball. We figured it was his chest. One shot and the cat was dead and falling out of the tree. As soon as the dogs could see the cat was dead they rushed back to the dead bushbuck to get a snack in. We took some pictures of the cat and before loading it I got one with the cat and dog handler. I shock his hand and thanked him. I also gave him a $10 tip. I should mention I did the same with the blue duiker dog handlers the day before. To say this trip was going great would be an understatement. Both of these animals were high on my wish list.

 

[Moe324]

 

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[Trophyhunter01]

Nice, keep it coming.

 

[Moe324]

Day 2 continued after the cat hunt. We went back to the lodge property to look for mountain reedbuck and waterbuck. After a nice lunch at the lodge it was time to hunt. We focused on finding a nice waterbuck. Once again they males seemed to be giving us the slip. We had spotted serval females. Just as evening was approaching I spotted a nice mature mountain reedbuck on the side on a small bluff. After glassing it we decided to pull the truck up around a bend over hillside and make our stalk. Everything is going as planned. We are getting out of the truck when a big male waterbuck comes over the hillside running full speed past us. My PH grabs the sticks and makes a run up the hill. I'm following behind as fast as I could. We get to the top I put the gun up just in time to see that white bullseye running over the hill out of sight. So now we don't have the waterbuck but we might have a chance at the mountain reedbuck. Sure enough in all that commotion it didn't go anywhere but had bedded down. After looking at it we decided to give it a pass as the next day we would be making a 2 hour drive up into the mountains to hunt vaal rhebuck and there would be a good change at bigger mountain reedbuck there as well. That night we decided to go spotlighting for cape grysbuck and springhare. None of either were spotted just some duiker, bushbuck, and a kudu bull. On the way home we saw a springhare. My PH said jump out and grab it. I tried but the thing karate kicked me just missing the family jewels and then jumped into a high fence area. We all got a good laugh at that. I was still on a high from the cat hunt when my head hit the pillow in comfortable private room.

 

[Moe324]

Day 3 we made the drive to the mountains to hunt vaal rhebuck. We stopped and picked up the local tracker at the base of the mountains. It took another 40 minutes driving the bending roads to get to the base of the mountain range we would be hunting. I knew we would be in for a treat just from the gain of altitude driving up the mountain. The first game we spotting for a group of mountain reedbuck. No shooter but still was nice seeing them. After driving higher up we spotted a large group of mountain reedbuck. We made a plan and started our walk up the mountain. As we finally got close enough to see them better we realized the big male in the group was a unicorn with one really big horn but the other broken off. So we passed on him and made our way down to the truck. We then drove up the mountain more finally reaching the top on one. From there we glassed a group of vaal rhebuck feeding behind some pine trees. We decided to sneak into the pines and would have a 200 yd shot from there. This was a relief for me as the wind was blowing good and I really was hoping for a close shot. As we made are final moves in the pines we soon learned they had moved also and was almost in the the pines. One set of eyes caught us and off they went up onto of another mountain. We got set up and I tried a far shot but it was a swing and miss. They ran over the top and down into a small valley. So we followed them. This time as we got to the top they were now making their way to the top of the next mountain. This time my shot connected breaking the front leg but not taking the vaal rhebuck down. He make his way over the top of the mountain. I'll say the next mountain climb was steep and I was just hoping he would be laying over the top for us. Unfortunately when we got to the top.he was over the top and out into a flat bowl of this mountain top. When we made it over he ran down into a mountain stream valley and luckily for us stayed in there. This gave us enough time to stalk up and but a good hit on him and finish him off. There was a mountain road near by for the farmers to check on sheep. So my PH Charl and his cousin Jacko my camera man went back for the truck while I caught by breath and waited with the trackers. It took them an hour and a half to return. That's how steep and rugged and far we had made it. I would put vaal rhebuck hunting right up there with mountain elk hunting. It was steep and the air was thin. By the time we got done with pictures and loaded up it was getting late. We were still hopeful that on the way down we might see some mountain reedbuck or fallow deer. We did see 4 fallow deer but none with horns. Just as we were making are way out of the last mountains we spotted a nice male mountain reedbuck. We drove down the road to park the truck and make a stalk back. As we were parking some cows decided to walk the road back towards the reedbucks. So we jumped in with the and used there noise and movement to hide us. This allowed us to get to 100 yards of them. One shot rang out of the 6.5 and we had a nice mountain reedbuck down. This was a relief after chasing down the vaal rhebuck. We drove back to the lodge tired and sore but happy we had a awesome hunt. I'll remember that vaal rhebuck hunt until the day I die. We worked hard for it.

 

[Moe324]

 

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The next morning we were on the road again heading towards a large property out in the Bedford area. As we got closer to the hunting grounds you could see the windmills in the distance spinning at top speed. The wind was howling and the gust were shaking the truck. Had this been a day at home it would of been a day to recall old hunts and memories and not one to make them. But when you only have so many days in Africa you have to use everyday. Today we would be looking for lechwe, fallow deer, and big kudu. We met the local tracker at the road with his dirt bike and then followed him into the area. Eventually he parked and jumped in the back with our tracker Lunger. This property had a road cut into the side of a mountain that overlooked a creek bed and then a mountain side. As we traveled down the road the first animals we saw were nyala. There was some nice shooter bulls mixed in. Lucky for them I had already killed one on a previous trip to Africa. Next we saw kudu but nothing to write home about. Eventually the mountains turned into small flat rolling hills with the creek bed leading to a large pond. My PH Charl Crous had told be about the pond area before the hunt. When he had hunted lechwe on this property in previous years he noted they liked to be around the pond. Well to our surprise the pond was empty of water. But sure enough we saw our first lechwe. He was all by himself bedded out of the nasty wind. He was a mature bull but didn't have the biggest curve. I told Charl I liked him and we decided to look around some more as it was early in the morning. Two more hours of driving the property and seeing lots of lechwe we now had a decision to make. Go away the older bull with less curve or go after a young bull with more curve but also with 20 other lechwe looking on. I made the decision to go after the lone older male. For multiple reasons, one he was alone so easier to stalk, two in this wind I didn't want to take the chance of hitting the wrong animals or multiple animals if they didn't separate good, and lastly it just seemed right to take a loner out. So we drove back around the property to find the lechwe bedded in the same spot. So we carefully parked and began our stalk in. We had good wind and the noise from the wind was howling so no way he could hear us coming. As we approached using bushes to hide us he stood up and jogged away with us at 350 yds away. Later I told my PH I think are local trackers sunglasses reflected the sun towards him. We will never know. But he was up and heading to the pond area. Once he got there he then walked up the creek bed and finally met up with two female lechwe. Using the wind and bushes we got to 150 meters of them and waited. We now had a cross wind from right to left. The gusts were horrible. We waited but they had bedded down. So we made a game plan of Lunger walking to the right and eventually they would get his smell and stand up. This worked like a charm expect when he stood and walked all I had was his butt facing me. At 250yds he finally turned. With the wind I put it in between his stomach and back hip. The wind was ripping. I fire and we could see he was hit somewhere but he ran over the top of the hill and down into another creek bottom. Jacko quickly reviewed the film and I had shot him in his brisket under his neck just in front of his shoulders. The wind really pissed that bullet. That's my story and we are sticking to it . Luckily we found his blood trail and the two trackers went down into the creek bed to track him while we stayed on the side of the hill to keep an eye out for him trying to sneak out the side. Sure enough after awhile we hear the trackers and see him run out the side. He was running full speed. I shot twice at him hitting him both times with one shot being into his neck and juggler. He expired quickly after that. Once we got to him we could see we made the right call as his teeth were worn down and almost done. Some pictures and we were off to head back to the lodge. On the way back to the main road we ran into a group of baboons climbing the mountains. I quickly grabbed the rifle and got ready but unfortunately wasn't given a shot. That would of been icing on the cake. We headed back to the lodge to eat and prepare for a night hunt looking for springhare and cape grysbuck.

 

[Moe324]

 

[Moe324]

I forgot to mention the lechwe had a very unique black mark on his face. Like a birth mark. Such a cool trophy. Another hunt I won't forget.

 

[Moe324]

The next hunt was a evening spotlighting hunt. The goal was to find cape grysbok and springhare. The first property we went to we saw lots of animals but no cape grysbok. While we were hunting the farm manager spotted a female on the other side of the property. This gave us some hope. The weather was cold and very windy. Eventually we made our way to a bottom field that was in very sandy soil. The springhares were everywhere and I managed to connect on one with a .22 unfortunately one of the shots damaged the leg good so we opted to shoot a second one. This one was a good shot and it was much bigger then the first one. There was a moment when Jacko drove the truck over a large hole and it collapsed sending the truck up into the air on two wheels. 4wd got us moving again we continued looking on this property for grysbok with no luck. The next property we went to was a pineapple and nut tree farm. We scanned alot of ground seeing duiker and bushbucks. Eventually we spotted a caracal stalking two female bushbucks. I quickly got on the cat and shot it. It jumped like a space ship blasting off and I hurried to put a second shot into it. I connected and the cat was down. I was relieved this was a bonus cat and not one I was mounting as the 6.5 did a lot of damage to it. We definitely saved some bushbucks that night. Unfortunately no cape grysbok were sighted. This was the last night we got out looking for them. So I will definitely be returning to hunt with Charl and Settlers Safaris again in the future.

 

[Moe324]

 

[Moe324]